The Emergency Medical Services Agency thanks and acknowledges our local hospitals and EMS providers
for their contributions to the EMS System in Santa Barbara County during EMS week, May 19 - 23. As a
testament to their dedication and commitment Santa Barbara County Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
system has received the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® EMS Silver Award.

Santa Barbara EMS system is recognized for its success implementing specific quality improvement
measures for the treatment of patients who suffer the most serious type of heart attack - known as a STEMI
(ST segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction).

Santa Barbara County's STEMI program is driving improvements in the care and outcomes of STEMI
patients. The Mission: Lifeline EMS Silver award is based on meeting the achievement measures for all four
calendar quarters with no single measure scoring below 75%.

The individual measures are as follows:

Percentage of patients with non-traumatic chest pain > 35 years of age, treated and transported by
EMS who receives a pre-hospital 12 Lead ECG.

Santa Barbara exceeded this requirement in all four quarters, achieving an annual 82%.

Santa Barbara exceeded this requirement in all four quarters, achieving an annual 92.6%.

Every year, almost 300,000 people experience a STEMI, a type of heart attack caused by a complete
blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. In 2013, 120 patients were treated by
the EMS system and in local hospital emergency departments. Heart Disease continues to be a leading
cause of premature death, causing 773 of the total 2,986 deaths in the county in 2012.

"American Heart Association commends Santa Barbara EMS Agency for this achievement award, which
reflects a significant commitment to improve the quality of care for heart attack patients," said A. Gray
Ellrodt, MD, Chair of the Mission: Lifeline committee and Chief of Medicine at the Berkshire Medical Center
in Pittsfield, Mass. "All too many heart attack patients in the United States still fail to receive appropriate
treatment for their life-threatening condition within the recommended timeframes. We must all continue
this important work to streamline and coordinate regional systems of care to save lives and prevent
complications."

"Santa Barbara EMS Agency is dedicated to making our County among the best in the country, and the
American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that by implementing
processes for improving STEMI systems of care with the goal of improving the quality of care for all STEMI
patients," said Angelo Salvucci, MD Santa Barbara County EMS Agency Medical Director "We are pleased to
be recognized for our dedication and achievements in emergency medical care for STEMI patients."